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# gradual

«gradual» in Mova's school dictionary: **Happening slowly and little by little over time, not…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (gradual, more gradual)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Happening slowly and little by little over time, not suddenly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradual/#m1)

2) Of a slope: rising or falling gently, not steeply. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradual/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science it describes slow changes: «a gradual change in temperature», erosion, growth. In maths it describes gentle slopes and steady increases. In everyday life it describes slow improvement. Phrases: gradual change, gradual increase, a gradual slope, gradual improvement.

### examples

- There was a gradual change in the colour of the leaves. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradual/#x1)
- The path has a gradual slope, so it is easy to walk up. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradual/#x2)
- Her reading showed gradual improvement over the term. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradual/#x3)
- The river caused gradual erosion of the bank. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradual/#x4)
- The gradual rise in temperature melted the snow. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradual/#x5)
- Learning to swim is a gradual process. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradual/#x6)

### note

Adverb: gradually. Opposite: sudden, abrupt, steep. Related: gradient (how steep a slope is), grade.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «gradual» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gradual/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.